An interview with Ko Júbilo

Júbilo is the kind of quiet talent you suddenly find running the show

Ko Júbilo’s talent was recognized early. The Vancouverbased designer was hired out of Emily Carr University’s industrial design program by award-winning design firm Molo Design. He worked for architects Todd Macallen and Stephanie Forsythe, and had a notable stint at London design firm Barber Osgerby before opening his studio six years ago. In 2018, he was named Western Living’s Industrial Designer of the year.

Júbilo is the kind of quiet talent you suddenly find running the show. Design came to him naturally, but his skills were fostered — first by his grandfather, who was a carpenter, and then by his architect father.

From his grandfather, he learned to love working with wood, he says, a natural material so abundant in British Columbia. Memories of his grandfather planing wood, and the beautiful shavings that result, was a strong memory from his childhood, he says.

“I definitely work with wood as a material because it’s so versatile,” he says.

Attending numerous client site visits with his dad also affected him, he explains: “It was a lot of drawing and sketching because this was prior to everything being visually done on computers.”

Júbilo has done a lot of retail store design for brands like Gastown menswear store Roden Gray and fashion retailer Neighbour. He also makes custom furniture, which has served him well during the pandemic, he says, because he wasn’t affected by issues with manufacturing facilities.

“People are spending more money on custom pieces, with longevity in mind. So that’s a lot of my focus now — creating products that can be used, and hopefully become heirlooms that can be passed down between generations,” he says.

Currently, he is designing a collection of “spanning tables.” We’ve all heard about nesting tables — tables that slide under one another for space-saving reasons. Spanning tables go the other way — they sit over other tables.

“The idea I’m working on is a table that can nest and span, with legs that allow it to go from a nesting concept to a spanning concept, so it can go over instead of under. I’m starting with a pair that could potentially be pushed to multiples of three or four, depending on scale, and making them out of wood,” he says.

Glass is a material Júbilo says he’s very interested in working with in the future.

“It’s a very specific skill that requires a lot of expertise. I was lucky enough to visit (renowned Italian glass company) Murano. I’ve always been interested in the colour aspect of glass and how mouldable it is — the fact it can be so rigid yet so elastic, as well. That’s what I’m currently exploring,” he says.

Another design medium that he’s attracted to is sound, says Júbilo. With spending so much time at home this past year, he’s been making music — another passion of his — and wondering how to better the machines he’s using.

Júbilo used to play drums and loves drum machines, along with synthesizers. He says he respects these machines and speaker systems created decades ago and are so robust.

The way they were designed and made, he says, allows them to be passed down between generations and not just thrown out.

“If we can find a way to make things last longer, and just cherish things, and give value to things, I think that’s definitely a good attitude to have and instil in the next generation and future generations as well,” he says.